Speaking at WildPhotos 2024
I’m thrilled to be part of a great line-up of speakers at WildPhotos this year. The event takes place on October 13th in Bristol. Virtual passes are also available.
My talk will be about how I found my way into film, what I love about the creative process, and how it’s different from stills photography.
“Queens” Wins Best Cinematography at Jackson Wild
Last night at the Jackson Wild Media Awards 2024, the episode of Queens that I worked on, “Tiny Jungle Queens”, won the award for Best Cinematography.
My role was filming the scenics for the episode and I’m pleased that I was able to make a small contribution along with Warwick Sloss, Michael Male, Gail Kukula, Mark Payne-Gill, Tim Shepherd, Justine Evans, Robin Cox, and Mohan Sandhu.
National Geographic Series “Queens” Released
Trailer for Queens
Queens is now airing on National Geographic Channel and streaming on Disney+.
Queens is a seven-part series that explores the lives and roles of female leaders in the natural world, from matriarchies to alpha females. Narrated by Angela Bassett, the series features stunning cinematography and music, and celebrates the women who protect and document animal queens.
My role was mostly filming the scenics for episode 3, “Tiny Jungle Queens”. The filming was creatively challenging, involving a lot of nerve-racking drone manoeuvres in and under the canopy, ready rig gimbal work, and motion control rigs, but my favorite part was filming using a camera with a custom full-spectrum OLPF that Red Digital Cinema made especially for this production.
BBC Series “Planet Earth III” Released
Joris van Alphen filming for the Planet Earth 3 “Forests” episode using a cable dolly in the canopy of a tree, 40 meters off the forest floor.
Today the BBC releases the most ambitious natural history series it’s ever undertaken, Planet Earth III. I feel very privileged to have filmed for two sequences of the “Forests” episode and one sequence of the “Heroes” episode of this series narrated by David Attenborough.
The series will run for eight episodes, every Sunday on BBC One at 6:20 pm GMT, kicking off today (October 22). Episode 5, “Forests”, airs on November 19 and episode 8, “Heroes”, on December 10.
In the US, the series premieres on BBC Americas and AMC+ on November 5.
Trailer for Planet Earth III
“In this new series of Planet Earth we travel to the most astonishing wild places, see mysterious creatures, witness rare, spectacular wonders, and reveal breath-taking animal dramas. The natural world continues to surprise us, but since Darwin’s time it has changed beyond recognition, being transformed by a powerful force – us. We will see how animals are adapting in extraordinary ways, to survive the new challenges they face. At this crucial time in our history, we must now look at the world through a new lens.”
Cinematographer for “Guardians of the Microcosm”
Behind the scenes filming in South Africa for Guardians of the Microcosm. Photo by Daniel Ballmer/Lucky Film.
I’m thrilled to announce that I’m working as the cinematographer of Guardians of the Microcosm, a film about the hidden world of insects, the tiny heroes that keep life on our planet running.
The documentary explores the many unexpected ways humanity depends on insects. It shows not only their beauty and how they make our planet livable, but also how our behavior is causing dramatic declines in their numbers and what we must do to avert catastrophe.
The documentary is produced by Swiss independent Lucky Film and will be released in cinemas in 2026.
Producer/director: Martin Schilt
Writer: Daniel Ballmer
Director of photography: Joris van Alphen
Editor: Marina Wernli
IMAX Film “Arctic: Our Frozen Planet” Released
The feature film adaptation of BBC’s Frozen Planet II is now starting to be released in IMAX cinemas in Canada and the US. International release dates vary, but if you live near an IMAX or giant screen cinema, there’s a good chance the film will play there in the coming months.
I’m very pleased to have contributed to this film. Filming for giant screen is a unique challenge, and for the Lapland bumblebee sequence we had to capture many shots twice: once composed for TV, and once again composed for giant screen.
Arctic: Our Frozen Planet is narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch.
At the top of our planet lies a magical realm of snow and ice – the Arctic. Every year it is transformed by an annual cycle of freeze and thaw. For millennia, this steady seasonal beat has allowed life to thrive. But our planet is warming, upsetting this natural balance and the Arctic is changing faster than anywhere else on Earth. Scientists are now discovering that what happens here, affects us all.
We will all be impacted by a warming Arctic… but none more so than local communities. Working with scientists, together they are shedding light on how changes to the Arctic’s natural balance affects each and every one of us … and they haven’t given up hope. Now it is up to us all to combat global warming and ensure there is a future for this fragile wilderness… Our frozen planet.
NHK Special “Nature’s Hidden Miracles” Released
The NHK Special Nature’s Hidden Miracles, a three-part series about new insights into the workings of evolution, is airing weekly in Japan from November 13.
I’m very pleased to have filmed sequences for episodes one and two.
Humans may think they are the smartest, most evolved lifeforms on the planet. But science says… not so. Explore the natural world through the latest cutting-edge science as it leads us deeper into the workings of evolution, going far beyond what we thought we knew. From the lush greenery that covers our planet to the microorganisms invisible to the naked eye, be prepared to experience our world in a brand-new light.
An international version of the series will be released on Curiosity Stream in 2023.
James Cameron Series “Super/Natural” Released
Super/Natural, a new series from James Cameron narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch, is out now.
Last summer I went on two shoots to film the Alcon blue caterpillar sequence for episode 4, “Rivals”.
Trailer for Super/Natural
You can stream Super/Natural on Disney+.
Nothing is what it seems. There are creatures all around us that appear ordinary, but posses super powers that we are only beginning to understand. Here you will find trees that can talk to each other to fend off an invasion, bees that work as a team to cook their enemies alive, and owls that hiss like snakes in order to survive. Welcome to a realm beyond human perception, where the impossible is possible. If you think you know nature, think again.
BBC Series “Frozen Planet II” Released
Today the BBC is releasing the first episode of Frozen Planet II.
I feel very privileged to have had the chance to film a sequence for this series. I filmed Lapland bumblebees in the Arctic for episode 5, “Frozen Lands”. Sir David Attenborough himself called this bee “the star of the show,” so you can imagine how excited I am to watch the episode when it airs on October 9. I also made a minor contribution to episode 6, “Our Frozen Planet”, which concludes the series with the stories of scientists who dedicate their lives to studying climate change and airs October 16.
The series will run for six episodes, every Sunday on BBC One at 8 pm GMT, kicking off today (September 11).
More than a decade on from the original Frozen Planet, this BBC landmark series explores Earth’s frozen habitats. Vast frozen wildernesses cover more than a fifth of our planet; from its highest peaks to its snowbound deserts, to deep beneath the ice. Between them, they contain an astonishing array of animals, many that are found nowhere else on Earth. Frozen Planet II reveals the extraordinary ways by which they manage to survive.
Featured in “Unforgettable Photojournalism” Book
Wildlife Photographer of the Year: Unforgettable Photojournalism is a new photo book published by the Natural History Museum. It was edited by Rosamund Kidman Cox and features the work of fifty international award-winning photographers.
It’s an incredible honor to have one of my photos featured in this book among some of the most iconic images made in environmental photojournalism over the past 30 years.
“Tiny World” Season 2 Released
Season 2 of Tiny World is now streaming on Apple TV+. I worked on episode 1, "Meadow", mostly as DP/cameraman, but I also directed a couple of shoots.
For those in the Netherlands, if you tune into Radio 1 on Sunday, May 17, at 8:00 a.m. you'll hear me live in conversation with Menno Bentveld for the opening of the second hour of Vroege Vogels to talk about the wonders of wildflower meadows and my part in the making of the series.
Behind the Scenes on “Tiny World”
Apple released behind the scenes footage today from its upcoming natural history series Tiny World that shows me filming strawberry poison dart frogs for the “Jungle” episode’s main sequence:
“Tiny World” Apple TV+ Series Announced
I’m finally able to share what I worked on for the better part of last year: Tiny World — a documentary series showing our world through the eyes of its tiniest creatures.
The first six episodes come to Apple TV+ on Oct 2nd.
Narrated by Paul Rudd, “Tiny World” takes a unique perspective on the natural world, exploring the ingenuity and resilience of the smallest animals on the planet. Brand new camera technology allows us, for the very first time, to see the world through the eyes of the tiniest creatures and witness the extraordinary things they do to survive.
Białowieża Logging Photo Awarded in Wildlife Photographer of the Year
The Logging Outbreak
Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2019, Wildlife Photojournalism, Highly Commended
I’m very thankful that my photo showing illegal state-sponsored logging in Poland’s Białowieża Forest in 2017 was just awarded in Wildlife Photographer of the Year in the Wildlife Photojournalism category.
Europe’s last large old-growth forest and home to the largest population of European bison, Białowieża Forest is one of the most precious natural areas on the continent. Defying orders from the EU's highest court, the Polish government supported the logging of at least 675 hectares of protected area from 2016 through the summer of 2018, including 229 hectares of old-growth stands. The government justified their actions with dubious arguments ranging from bark-beetle control to public safety, and claimed trees were cut selectively.
The world's media at the time focused largely on the EU court case. They did little to investigate and paint a clear picture of what was actually happening to the forest. I grew frustrated at the lack of information, so I decided to travel down to see what was happening. It wasn’t until I spent several weeks on the ground that I realized the extent of the destruction. Aerials showed a very different picture from that painted by the government: the clear-cutting of large swaths of forest using harvesters and other heavy machinery.
Through a gaping hole in the canopy of Poland’s Białowieża Forest, piles of logs from commercial logging await transportation. Braving a media ban and the police, Joris captured this drone image showing evidence of large-scale commercial logging using heavy machinery in one of the forest’s protected areas.
Straddling Poland’s border with Belarus, the UNESCO-protected Białowieża Forest is the last surviving primeval forest in Europe and home to the largest population of European bison. But since 2016, commercial logging activity has escalated. Officially said to be aimed at clearing dead wood to control a bark beetle outbreak, it is putting this fragile and precious ecosystem at risk.
The Logging Outbreak, Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2019